Rug rolling machine



Sept. 26, 1939. H. c. BAASE ET Al.

RUG ROLLING MACHINE Filed Jan. 4, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l L J LI INVENTORS. lye/21 C Daase and BY Eecl J Dame,

ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 26, 1939. H? Q BAAsE ET AL 2,174,411

RUG ROLLING MACHINE Filed Jan. 4, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORD.

flea/ g Dame and. BY F reo' J Demise.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RUG ROLLING MACHINE Application January 4, 1936, Serial No. 57,494

3 Claims. (01. 242-65) The invention relates to improvements in machines for rolling fabric and more particularly to machines for automatically rolling rugs as they are delivered from a rug cleaning machine, without the use of a roller or center core which necessarily must be removed after the rug or piece of fabric has been rolled up.

Specifically, the invention has for its object, the provision of an apparatus for receiving rugs, and particularly large rugs, from a rug cleaning machineand rolling them up, preferably with the 'nap in, so that they may be easily handled, and in one aspect, the invention contemplates the automatic delivery of the roll from the rolling apparatus after the rolling has been completed.

For the purpose of disclosing the invention, certain embodiments thereof are disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rug rolling attachment for a rug washing machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan elevation with parts partly broken away to show more clearly the construction of the apparatus;

.Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing a modified form of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the conveyor flattened out for delivery of the rug.

Referring more particularly to the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, one end I of a rug cleaning machine is shown, and this end is provided with a pair of delivery rolls 2, one mounted above the other and between which the rug is adapted to pass. These rolls in effect constitute the feed rolls for the rug rolling apparatus which is attached to the delivery end of the cleaning machine either as an independent unit or built into the cleaning machine.

This rug rolling device comprises a pair of side standards 3 adapted at'the point 4 to rest upon and, if desired, to be bolted to the front feet of the rug cleaning machine, and each provided with a front foot 5. Extending between the standards and secured in suitable bearings 6 is a bottom shaft 1 carrying suitable conveyor rollers 8. Immediately above and in substantially vertical alignment with the bottom rollers 8 is a set of top rollers 9 mounted on a shaft l0 supported in suitable journals II. A continuous conveyor is adapted to pass over'these rollers and over a set of rollers I2 at the receiving end of the rolling apparatus. This conveyor comprises a plurality of continuous conveyor belts l3, widely spaced apart, and having secured on one face thereof transverse slats M which,

lengthwise of the conveyor, are slightly spaced apart. The belts l3 may be in the form of sprocket chains or in the form of belts with sprocket openings l5, formed therein, and the rollers l2 may be provided with sprocket teeth if desired. These rollers I2 may be driven in any suitable manner but are illustrated as being drivenfrom a sprocket wheel IE on one of the feed rolls 2 through the medium of a sprocket chain ll passing over a sprocket wheel I8 mounted on the shaft [9 of the rollers l2. The conveyor passes over the rollers l2 beneath the rollers 8 and over the rollers 9. In order to form a throat in the conveyor, we provide on the two standards 33 a pair of guiding top rollers 20 mounted on stub shafts 2| journalled in the side. frames. These two rollers extend inwardly from the side frames only a sufficient distance to engage the edges of the conveyors so that as the conveyor is driven in a clock-wise direction, it will pass beneath the two guide rollers 26, then upwardly over the top rollers 9, then downwardly beneath the bottom rollers 8 and then back and upover the intake rollers I2. The guide rollers 20 are so arranged with respect to the top and bottom rollers 8 and 9 that as the conveyor moves substantially vertically upward after having passed beneath these guide rollers 20, it is inclined slightly from the vertical and towards the top surface of the conveyor. As the result of this construction, when the rug is delivered from the feed rollers 2 on to the conveyor I3, it travels forward on the conveyor, having its front edge turned upwardly as the conveyor turns up towards the vertical. Due to the fact that there is no means for holding the rug to the conveyor, the upper edge of the rug falls back upon the forwardly feeding surface of the rug and the continued feeding of the rug into the throat or against the vertical portion of the conveyor causes the rug to roll back upon itself and into a complete roll. As a result, the rug is completely rolled up and may be readily removed from the conveyor and at the same time, there is no core to be removed from the rug or no roller from which the rug must be slipped.

By the provision of the transverse slats which are longitudinally separated from one another, sufficient gripping surface is given to cause the rug to feed forward and to force the rug against the vertical rise of the conveyor. The rug being of comparatively soft flexible material, will drop just sufiiciently in the spaces between the slats to provide a friction grip on the rug and insure the proper feeding of the rug.

In the structure illustrated in Fig. 3, we have provided a modification wherein after the roll has taken place, it may be automatically dumped from the conveyor. To this end, we provide, extending from the side frames 22, a pair of vertically extending uprights 23 which are mounted on rotatable supports 24 carried in the side frames. The top roll 9' of the conveyor is mounted on a shaft l supported in these uprights. In other respects, the arrangement and the mounting of the rolls is similar to that illustrated in the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By the pivotal mounting of the supports 23, however, after the rug has been rolled up, the uprights 23 may be swung in a clock-Wise direction through the medium of the handle 25 so as to straighten out the conveyor and provide a continuous inclined conveyor to permit the delivery of the rolled rug off of the conveyor without the operator having to lift the same.

In order that the supports 23 may be maintained in their upright position during the rolling of the rug, we provide a lock comprising a latch member 26 pivoted at 21 to the upwardly extending side bar 28 and slotted as at 29 to engage over a projecting end of the shaft I I3. This maintains the arms 23 in their upright position and when it is desired to deliver a rolled rug, all that is necessary is to release this latch and throw the arms 23 into a position to more or less straighten out the conveyor.

In actual practice, the surface speed of the conveyor, comprising the belts l3 and the slats I4, is considerably greater than the peripheral speed of the feed rolls 2. As aresult, when the rug is first delivered to the conveyor belt from the feed rolls, there is a differential between the speed of the belt and the speed of the feed rolls, thereby tending to straighten the rug out, due to the drag, at the initial delivery point on the end of the rug. However, as soon as the complete rug has been delivered to the conveyor, this drag ceases.

We claim as our invention:

I. A fabric coiling apparatus comprising a continuous conveyor, a roller at one end of said conveyor, a second roller at the opposite end of said conveyor, a third roller mounted immediately above said second-mentioned roller and nearer to said first-mentioned roller than said secondmentioned roller, and a pair of edge engaging rollers for the conveyor engaging the top edges of the conveyor to insure a sharp bend in the conveyor as it moves upwardly over the top roller and means for swinging the top roller downwardly and outwardly away from said second-mentioned roller to form a substantially continuous flat conveyor surface.

2. In a coreless fabric coiling apparatus, a continuous conveyor having a substantially flat supporting surface and a surface extending substantially vertically and upwardly and at an angle less than a right angle to said supporting surface to cause the fabric as it moves up said vertical surface to fall back upon itself, and means for swinging the said vertically extending surface into substantial alignment with the flat surface to permit the fabric to move unobstructedly on said supporting surface.

3. A coreless fabric coiling apparatus comprising a pair of side members having at one end a pair of upwardly extending arms, a shaft mounted between said side members at said end, a second shaft mounted between said upwardly extending arms, sprocket wheels mounted on said shafts, a shaft mounted at the opposite end of said side members, said shaft at the upper ends of said arms being nearer to the last-mentioned shaft than the shaft at the base of said arms, driving sprockets mounted on said shaft, an endless conveyor comprising a plurality of parallel arranged belts adapted to pass over said sprocket wheels, transversely extending slats spaced apart and supported by said belts, a pair of guiding rolls mounted on said side members above said belts and adapted to engage the outer edge only of said conveyor.

HENRY C. BAASE. FRED J. BAASE. 

